Evaluation of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) population for drought survival and behavior

Climate change models predict frequent and intense droughts in the world. Development of drought-tolerant species and cultivars is necessary to cope with such changes. Forage grass species are affected, especially in the Mediterranean region. The aim of the present study was to investigate the diversity for drought survival, summer dormancy, and productivity within a cocksfoot population.The study was conducted in Morocco, under field conditions from 2011 to 2013. 283 genotypes of cocksfoot and parents were tested, characterized for dry matter yield, heading date, plant height, senescence, summer dormancy, and drought survival. Results exhibited a large variability between traits. 79% of the population had survived after severe drought summer while 57% yielded more than both parents. Also, 63% of the progeny had an intermediate score of summer dormancy estimated by senescence score. Large variability was also noticed for heading date and plant height. Several accessions combined a high yield and persistence under severe summer drought. Which explain the significant correlation (r = 0.18, P < 0.005) founded between total dry matter accumulated in 2013 and plant survival. Accordingly, our results showed that we can rise persistent and resilient genotypes among population with a good level of biomass.     

Conservation and multivariate analysis utility in characterization of ecogegraphical relationships of Trifolium and Lotus species

The maintenance of species in an environment and the durability of rangeland and fallow improvement depend on the choice of populations used. The study of abundance and the relationship between the natural distribution of spontaneous legumes species of forage and/or pastoral interest and environmental factors is an important step for an adequate utilization of local genetic resources. Collection of annual Trifolium species and the genus of Lotus were conducted at 45 sites in Morocco in May/June 2004. Ecogeographical information was recorded at each site. Twelve species of annual Trifolium and two species of Lotus were identified. Most prolific were T. tomentosum and L. corniculatus. A principal components analysis and canonical variate analysis were conducted to group the sites, using the ecogeographical variables collected at each site. The variables that were found to be most important in grouping the sites were mean coldest month temperature, mean hottest month temperature, mean annual rainfall, latitude, longitude and soil pH. None of the species identified were limited to only one ecogeographical group.     

Towards a new approach of controlling endophytic bacteria associated with date palm explants using essential oils,aqueous and methanolic extracts from medicinal and aromatic plants

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - We identified two strains of endophytic bacteria associated with date palm explants by 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing, and we explored...